ARMOR [New World Book 2] (5 page)

Amy reached out to Dasks. Her
hand connected with his arm. For a second she thought she touched skin and she
felt a jolt of electricity pass between them. She hadn’t been mistaken the
previous night. The feeling was real. Dasks felt it too because he jumped.

“Please, Dasks,” she begged.
“Their mother is dying. They have no one but us. Please? I will go with you if
the boy can come. I’ll even discuss mating.”

It was slight and hardly
noticeable but Dasks nodded. Amy stooped down and pulled both children to their
feet. Dasks towered over all of them. She heard him draw in a deep breath and a
small grumbling noise clicked at the back of his throat. He cocked his head at
her and Amy wondered if these beings sensed deception. Amy shivered; she meant
what she had said, only left out the part about her inevitable demise. Her
apprehension surprisingly stemmed toward what would transpire when they
discovered her ruse. With a little luck she would be away from this hell—headed
to God knows where. But nevertheless away.

* * * *

Amy stood with her mouth
gaping when she was led onto the largest space vessel she had ever seen. It
looked to be the equivalent of a black flying domed football stadium. It sat
hovering over the ground. The trees underneath had shattered into splinters,
obviously crushed as the ship had settled. Rows of broken stumps all sheared to
the same size looked to be supporting it. It was like looking at a sea of tree
headstones. A sleek, hovering black walkway rolled down to give them access.
When Dasks climbed onto the entry, Amy was surprised his clawed feet didn’t
clunk against the walkway. She realized why when she stepped up; the entry was
soft under her feet. The walkway rolled back up, in fact it slid horizontally
like a wall of thick water closing behind them and sealing their fate—whatever
it may be.

Dasks carried Leah in his
arms as she was barely breathing. What gasps of air she struggled to take
sounded sucked from a straw. She was limp and unresponsive. Amy and Meg had a
hard time when they had half-carried half-dragged her from the cave. Talsk held
Lisa in his arms. The little girl had fallen asleep against him after he had
offered the child food which she had eaten enthusiastically. The gift of the
young, not judging of looks. Only Talsk’s kindness had mattered.

The air aboard the vessel was
sweet, clear, and Amy coughed with unexpectedness. She was used to dust and
smoke assaulting her lungs. Inside was open and beautiful and clean. Amy
remembered clean; she longed for it. She was uncomfortably aware of just how
filthy she was and wrapped her arms around herself wishing she could hide from
her own stench.

It took everything in Amy not
to flee when another large creature approached. It was on all fours. Huge claws
moved across the vessel at a fast rate jumping from wall to ground to wall.
Powerful muscles bunched when it leapt then stretched its arms out before it to
devour the surface in seconds like a great beast of prey. Amy could see its
claws dig into the soft tan surface of the craft giving it sure footing. The
material beneath her feet was spongy, almost bouncy and felt like a carpet that
was way too thick. The deference the other two creatures showed toward the
approaching being led her to understand he was their leader.

“I said no males,” the
creature thundered.

When he rose to his full
height while still in motion and continued toward them without breaking stride,
Amy gasped. He was larger than Dasks.

Amy jumped at his booming
voice which carried deep into the vessel surrounding them.

Lisa woke and began crying.
Craig scooted back a few steps, wide-eyed, and bumped into Talsk. Talsk placed
his claw-like hand onto the boy’s shoulder and his talons settled across
Craig’s chest, holding him against his armor.

“This one is the male child’s
mother, Cobra,” Dasks said. He indicated the unresponsive woman he held cradled
to his massive chest.

“Male Earthling creatures
have no hope of survival on our planet. They will never develop a shield and nor
will they have the protection of a Castian warrior. Fair game for any attacking
Tonan,” Cobra snapped. “I am not being cruel. I am stating fact.”

“And the little females?”
Talsk asked.

“They are children, Talsk.
They are welcome aboard. Human females mature at the same rate as Castian
females did when they were alive. Our men will still be able to shield them
while they are children, as that’s instinct. Without females, we cannot breed.
When they are grown, they will have the protection of their mates,” Cobra said,
turning to walk away and dismissing them.

Amy stiffened in anger.

“So that’s it?” Amy snapped.
Her feet were in motion moving forward of their own violation. “Why will your
warriors
not shield a male child?”

Cobra stopped and turned.

For a second Amy hesitated
and contemplated retreat then stood her ground. Amy’s eyes widened in stunned
surprise when the creature’s black armor began disappearing back into his body.
It was absorbed, with nothing remaining when it was done. Before her stood a
man. He was huge and solid, commanding. His facial features seemed chiseled in
marble. Amy hoped his heart wasn’t made of stone. The armor had hugged his
body. Every muscular ripple she had seen before was his. The armor had been
black as titanite; the man before her looked to be deeply tanned. Amy
remembered Dasks had said his planet sported two suns.

The transformation was
stunning. No longer was Cobra some hideous beast with fangs and bulbs for eyes.
He was barefoot, void of claws and talons, and bare-chested. Sleek black pants
molded to his hips and thighs and generous maleness. Amy swallowed hard when he
stood before her. Her head didn’t reach his shoulders. Her face tilted back to
look up into his eyes. His features were set. He was a being of great power.
She felt herself begin to tremble. She wouldn’t back down. A child’s life was
at stake. Amy had nothing to lose. Imminent death made one brazen.

When Cobra’s hand lifted to
her cheek Amy saw Dasks tense beside her. The backs of Cobra’s fingers slid
down her soft skin. They were warm and slightly damp. His healthy, zealous
darkness was a poignant contrast to her pale deathly white skin. He was
strikingly handsome. Long black hair hung to his shoulders. His eyes were dark
brown, compelling and looked too old to belong to such a young virile man. She
should have been terrified, but oddly his touch was calming. It felt nice to
have his damp fingers touch her skin. She had no more urge to argue with him.
It was as though her anger was being drawn from her. But she felt her desolation
build.

“Isn’t there something?” she
whispered. “He’s a good boy. He’ll die if left all alone.”

“You have no idea what you
ask. A Castian male has never had to shield another male, not even their own
offspring. Our males are born with a shield that develops into the armor that
you see on us and they never lose it,” Cobra replied. “You have no
understanding of our ways, little female.”

Cobra removed his fingers
from her skin and Amy felt like she had been released from some type of hold.

“Perhaps not, but I
understand a show of compassion,” she challenged. “If you take the women of
Earth from our planet without their male offspring, you will be hated as well
as feared.”

Cobra seemed to ponder her
words.

He nodded. “Take the woman to
our healing waters,” he commanded Dasks. “If she lives, the boy may stay; if
she dies, he leaves my ship. The female children will stay regardless.”

Cobra spun on his heels and
left—his word was law aboard his vessel. Amy could hear it in his tone and the
way Dasks and Talsk nodded immediately. Amy hoped with all her heart Leah would
survive. Piece by piece Cobra’s armor locked into place without a sound. Soon
he was moving at a blurring rate as he pounced from floor to wall. It was like
watching a mobile robust machine. Amy watched him leave until the magnitude of
the vessel enveloped him. Everywhere she looked she saw powerful men with and
without their armor. There were levels to the ship. Higher was all in darkness.
At first Amy wondered how they reached those areas until she saw a few of the
armored creatures scale the walls to the upper levels. They went on all fours
to openings and then just stepped onto platforms void of armor when reaching
their destination. It was a hive of activity. They worked side-by-side without
much said verbally and yet each seemed to know what the other was doing. It was
as though they sensed each other. Amy shook off a chill.

Another armored male
approached and Amy shied back. He took Leah from Dasks. Lisa struggled within
Talsk’s arms to go with her mother, but he held her. His armor began receding
back into his flesh.

Amy was surprised. Talsk was
very handsome. Dark blue eyes shined where the bulbs had been. His long blond
hair hung shoulder-length like all the other men. Curiously, Amy glanced
around. All the men aboard appeared to be either dark-haired or blond—it was no
wonder they stared at Meg’s riot of red matted curls.

Lisa stared wide-eyed at
Talsk’s transformation. Her tiny little fingers reached up to feel his
face—like all the others, he was clean-shaven. Not even a smidgeon of stubble
dotted his chin. Fine white-blond eyebrows were barely visible. Talsk was
smiling at the girl. He hefted the child’s slight weight easily. His large
hand, void now of talons, slid over her matted hair. He sniffed her neck making
the child squeal and giggle.

“I want one of these,” Talsk
said and grinned, obviously enchanted. He bounced her up and down making her
laugh with delight.

It had been a long time since
Amy had seen the child smile. For an odd reason, it made her feel defensive.

“She’s not a pet,” Amy said
angrily. “Give her to me.”

Amy reached for the child and
jumped back when Talsk’s armor snapped together like lightning. Lisa
disappeared within. There was no trace of her, not even an outline of her tiny
form.

Maddy screamed. “You ate my
little sister,” she howled.

“I did not eat her,” Talsk
growled. He then looked over to Dasks. “She’s in here with me. Pressed to my
chest. Can’t you see her?”

“I can’t even sense her,”
Dasks replied gruffly.

“Cobra said it was instinct.
It just happened when I sensed your female’s anger, Dasks,” Talsk said with
sheer amazement. “My armor is regulating the little one’s breathing and core
temperature like it would my own. It’s running a scan. She has a virus my armor
is attacking.”

To Amy, it appeared he was
telling the truth. Though he was void of facial expression when armored she
detected the wonder in his tone of voice. Amy had been angry. She felt lacking
when Talsk had coaxed a laugh from the child. Talsk had reminded her of their failure
at providing for the children. Lisa had a cold, and all were terrified it was
the start of pneumonia like her mother.

“She feels fine now,” Talsk
said.

Piece-by-piece the armor came
down to reveal the child pressed tight to Talsk’s chest. Her head lifted.

“Me was stuck,” Lisa said. She
inhaled. “Me cold is gone.”

Amy was amazed; the child
didn’t seem fazed a bit by what had just transpired.

Lisa held her arms out for
Amy. Reluctantly Talsk handed her over.

Leah’s other daughter began
sobbing and Meg picked up the six-year-old. Her hand ran over the child’s hair.

“Don’t cry, Maddy. They are
trying to help your mother, and see, Lisa is fine. Talsk didn’t hurt her,” Meg
said.

“Will they kill my brother?”
Maddy asked.

“No,” Amy said sharply and
leveled a hard stare at Dasks. “Are you going to keep hiding?”

When Dasks’ armor began
unclasping his body, Amy was surprised. His hair was black as night, straight,
sleek and shiny like his armor and hung to his shoulders. His skin was smooth
and tanned. His biceps flexed. In fact, all of his muscles seemed bunched. The
power behind those incredible bulges was awesome. He was bare-chested and
barefoot. Identical black pants matching Cobra’s hugged his delicious hips. Amy
clamped her mouth closed to keep from drooling. She couldn’t believe the transformation.
He was a very handsome alien. It was hard not to feel a tingle of attraction
toward an
Adonis God
.

O
h my.

Her knees felt weak and
actually wobbled. This hunk wanted to mate with her? Oh if only… Dark brown
dreamy eyes settled onto her. She could get lost in his stare. Her head tilted
with some confusion when she was compelled to look deeper. For some odd reason
Dasks looked furiously angry.

Chapter 3

Dasks ordered another two
warriors to take the children and watch them.

Amy gave up the little girl
only after being reassured the children were going to get food and the boy
wouldn’t be harmed.

Dasks scowled when he sensed
she didn’t quite believe him. Dasks could tell she wanted to trust him but
wasn’t sure of herself. It was a bit hard for Dasks to know for certain as her
pheromones spiked while she gazed up at him. The smell was somewhat
intoxicating and made him feel a little less sure of himself. Who was she
attracted to? Him? Cobra? Talsk? Dasks wasn’t able to center on her scent when
she was experiencing too many emotions so quickly. It made his head ache and he
could growl with the frustration he was feeling.